Watertown Lady Raiders tennis squad finds success against Stoneham

Friday

May 16, 2014 at 9:53 AMMay 16, 2014 at 9:53 AM

by Frank Santarpiowatertown@wickedlocal.com

The Lady Raiders also had a lot of success against Stoneham on Thursday as they recorded their fourth win of the year rolling to a 5-0 win over the Lady Spartans."All of our wins came in two sets so that was really great to see," Watertown coach Jill Ziekel said after the match."Freshmen Michelle Aftandilian and her twin sister Rachel won easily at number one and number three singles respectively while Sarah Rahim did the same at number two singles.At first doubles Rebecca Hellman and Jessica Russo cruised in their win as did the number two doubles pairing of Eliza Tortz and Sedra Katerji.Although the season has been a struggle, the Watertown High boys tennis team won their second Division Three contest of the year on Thursday May 15 thus ensuring themselves at least a .500 record in D-3 matches which now qualifies them for the post-season tournament."Sure it's nice to make the tournament," Watertown high coach Dan Cedrone said after his team's 4-1 win over Stoneham. "But at the same time we know our overall record (2-12) has been disappointing."Nonetheless the Raiders were able to get by the Spartans for the second time this season (their only other win coming earlier in the year when they defeated Stoneham 3-2) backed by some very good performances in their singles matches.At number one singles senior James Kapotsis had no trouble in a 6-0, 6-0 win while his twin brother Anthony also made quick work of his opponent in a 6-1, 6-2 final."These two boys are the only members of our team that played indoor tennis in the winter," Cedrone said. "And that certainly has helped their game. The other boys have gotten a little better with time but being able to play in the off-season is a big advantage."At number three singles junior Chris Saroufim won his first match of the season and in the process clinched the team's win with a 6-3, 6-1 win over his opponent.The first doubles team of Keith Perrin and John Scudder battled hard but lost a 2-6, 5-7 final but the second doubles team of Karl Elbakian and Kareem Alhadi got the Raiders fourth point of the day with a convincing 6-1, 6-2 win.The Raiders will next play Wilmington on Monday May 19.